1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a radiator grille for mounting in a motor vehicle radiator grille arrangement, and a method of producing it.
2. Description of the Related Art
In motor vehicles, radiator grille arrangements are generally provided in which a radiator grille is mounted, for example, on a support member. The radiator grille generally has a rigid frame within which a bar element or a plurality of bar elements are arranged. As the result of a specific construction of the radiator grille together with the bar elements the vehicle is given a desired visual appearance which is individual to it. For a visually high quality appearance of the vehicle the radiator grille is usually chromium plated or specially painted.
In order to meet the relevant safety requirements for protecting pedestrians in the event of an impact, various embodiments are known from the art in which the radiator grille is guaranteed to be pivotable by means of being correspondingly movably mounted on the engine bonnet or on a component of the body work. Such an approach is described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,889 and in DE 44 35 396 A1. What is common to all these constructions is that the radiator grille per se is in each case constructed as a rigid component. In the event of a frontal impact this may have the disadvantage that in spite of being pivotable the radiator grille itself is damaged which necessitates expensive replacement of this component.